WALK ARTIST – Lorraine Shulba is a St. Albert-raised visual artist who is set to participate in the Whyte Ave. Art Walk for the 12th year in a row.

CHRIS COLBOURNE/St. Albert Gazette

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Whyte Avenue Art WalkBooths featuring more than 400 visual and other artists10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday, July 11 to Sunday, July 13For more details, visit www.art-walk.ca.

The busy commercial district of Edmonton’s Whyte Avenue is about to get even more crowded. This is the weekend when hundreds of visual artists from all across the region take to the streets of the 14 city blocks surrounding the bustling hub where trendy shoppers and many, many vehicles pass through every day.

The Whyte Avenue Art Walk is a three-day event that sees hundreds of artists of all stripes take their wares to the sidewalks in a 14-city-block area centred all around the popular strip in Old Strathcona. Its tag line is “See art being made, talk to artists and buy art you love.”

With so much local talent on display, you can be sure that there will be a fair representation of artists from north of the capital city too. St. Albert art lovers will be sure to note such names as Phil Alain, Kristin Anderson, Madeleine Arnett, Daniel Evans, Kaytlyne Dewald, Olga Duk, Carmen Gonzalez, Sirkka Kadatz, Susan Scott, Lorraine Shulba and Oksana Zhelisko, among the full list of presenters.

Shulba herself just returned from the Calgary Art Walk. She grew up in St. Albert and last exhibited locally in a group show at the Art Gallery of St. Albert back in 2008. She works as both a fine artist and in design through her website at www.bluebugstudios.com.

This marks the 19th year for the event, and the 12th one for Shulba.

“Where does the time go?” she pondered, laughing. “This has been a great event. It’s grown a lot since I’ve become involved. It’s really nice because, I think, a lot of people go there for the art. It’s an art destination whereas a lot of festivals and whatnot aren’t really specifically for art.”

Such commitment over time must mean that she has derived substantial enough benefit from her participation. The Art Walk has a little bit of a reputation for being hit and miss with exhibitors and attendees, with reasons including varying artistic tastes and Alberta’s wild weather.

Shulba, for her part, said that she has been extremely fortunate and has always done well with the passersby, making sales and spreading the word about her work.

“I’ve been pretty lucky. I’ve found, so far, that it’s been quite a good experience. Whyte Ave. is always a great tourist destination,” she began.

“When I was first doing my work, I was like, ‘How do I get out there? How do I get people to see my work?’ The nice thing about the Art Walk is that you’re meeting the people one on one. They get a sense of who you are as a person and as an artist. You make that connection. Art is a really personal thing for people so if you can make that connection then they’re more inclined to buy a piece or keep you in mind for something else. You never know how the universe is going to work things out.”

Shulba will next have work in an exhibit at the Misericordia Hospital in August.

Attendees can check out Shulba’s work at her booth near the Chapters on Whyte at 105 Street.

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